Gareth ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate(a) the cost of extending Winter Fuel Payments to households with a disabled person and to householders with children aged under five years and (b) the amount allocated within existing benefits for disabled people towards heating costs. [1118]
§ Mr. McCartneyApplying current entitlement rules and extending Winter Fuel Payments to households with a disabled person aged under 60 in receipt of Disability Living Allowance and all households with a child under five, would increase the annual cost of Winter Fuel Payment provision by an estimated £780 million.
There is no specific amount for heating costs in the benefits available to disabled people under 60 years of age, but Disability Living Allowance (DLA) provides a contribution towards the extra costs associated with severe disability. The care and mobility needs entitlement criteria for the benefit are used as broad indicators of all the extra 273W costs, including the heating costs, of a disabled person. The disability premiums in income-related benefits are paid in recognition that the poorest disabled people need extra help.
Note:
Costs are rounded to the nearest £10 million. They are based on data taken from the 1999–2000 Family Resources Survey and 5 per cent. scans of administrative data from the DLA computer system and Child Benefit computer system. Quoted costs allow for forecast changes to 2001–02 in the DLA caseload and in the number of children under the age of five.